The question we should all be asking.

Sometimes my children will make a profound statement. And then, they will look at me with a twinkle in their eye when it takes me a moment to process what they said.

Recently, I was driving to the store when I heard my son’s voice from the back of my van, “Mom, have you ever noticed that when we look in the mirror we see ourselves in our own eyes?”

Wow.

This statement catapulted my mind into a day’s worth of self-reflection (pun intended).

When we look into the mirror, what do we see? Do we see ourselves through eyes of negativity? Or apathy? Or maybe even arrogance, placing us in full denial that changes need to be made.

Personally, I’ve been guilty of seeing myself through extremely distorted eyes. And, depending on the day or season of life, I’ve seen myself in just about every light possible.

Upon thinking about this, I’ve noticed there are two main camps we can divide our clouded vision into: graceless negativity or delusional confidence.

As you already know, both these camps are dangerous and harmful. Neither of them produces a productive balance. They leave us frozen in place, stuck where we are, victims of the day.

This all-too-familiar-problem leads to the question we should all be asking.

When we look in the mirror, do we try to see ourselves through GOD’S EYES?

The moment we make the effort to strip away our hurts, hang-ups and habits, and refuse to allow them to affect our sight, is the moment we take a step toward seeing the truth.

I wholeheartedly believe that when God looks at us He sees the whole picture. He knows exactly what we need to change and the sin we need to get rid of. But, He also sees the beautiful parts of us at the same time. It’s not either/or with God. It’s both/and.

Love and grace are paired with the challenge to rise above and enter the metamorphosis that shifts us from a selfish, sinful person to a giving, Christ-like person.

Imagine the beauty this type of sight brings! There’s no guilt or shame being used as leverage when God nudges us to choose the high road. There are no enabling excuses thrown at our sin, just a matter of fact reminder that we are children of the KING who know better than to act the way we do sometimes.

There’s a mingling of love and rebuke.

I would encourage all of us to stop looking in the mirror and seeing ourselves in our own eyes. Honestly, it’s a rotten way to live!

Instead, let’s allow God to show us what we really look like so we can be nourished by the truth that He loves us unconditionally; with a love that’s full of grace and compassion. And also, so we can be spurred on to steer clear of sin’s traps and be people who clearly show the world the power that comes when we have Christ in us!

Let’s listen to God as He tells us what He sees in us. Only then will we be filled with courage, inspiration, strength and a desire to make great choices.

Let’s choose to meditate on James 1:22-24 (MSG) each time we step up to the mirror.

“Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.”